Percy Weasley and the Scarlet Woman
by intriguelover
Summary: Percy Weasley was always a prat... but he was also a Weasley. How on earth could someone from that family turn their back on everything and everyone they love? Someone said it was only ambition. Someone lied.
1. Chapter 1

"Horribly optimistic and ignorant mugwumps… the lot of them…" Percy Weasley had been muttering in this vein for quite some time now, but had not yet had the sense or disposition to cease. He, contrary to character, had become quite angry indeed. Not just peevish… really and truly angry.

And what was he supposed to have become? The only person in the family who gave him the time of day was Ginny, and he was far too emphatically secretive with her to expect her to be able to adequately defend him.

His brothers had played another trick on him, and a serious one this time. This was no ordinary dungbomb in the mailbox trick. How could THEY possibly be expected to keep their pranking at a mildly appropriate level. They were geniuses in their own right, and it was their duty to spread their genius to the world. They couldn't just put shaving cream on his face at night, or dung beatles in his soup… they had to create a pastry that lit things on fire! A pastry that lit HIS FOUR WEEKS WORTH OF FINISHED REPORTS FOR BARTEMUS CROUCH ON…. FIRE! Not to mention the only copy of the Warlock treaty of 1985, other than the original. Which meant that not only was he sure to be fired, but on his way out he would need to spend another week and a half in the vault, looking for the only musty copy of the damned treaty. Did Gred and Forge have any idea HOW MANY WARLOCK TREATIES THERE WERE?

Percy had entered his room to find everything on his desk afire. So much work completely destroyed. And what was he supposed to tell Mr. Crouch?

"Sorry about this Mr. Crouch. My brothers are going to kill themselves very soon. Could I have another four weeks to finish the reports?"

Uh,Huh… That would go over well.

Percy's brothers had been getting him into trouble since school began, and Percy just could not seem to get away from them. He had barely managed to scrape through school with high enough marks to get the job he had right out of Hogwarts. His mother and father had been so proud of him, but totally unsurprised, which only confirmed Percy's suspicion that they didn't really know him at all. They showered him with gifts and praise. They spoke highly of him. They had tried to give him everything he'd ever wanted, just like all of the Weasley children.

But they had only barely enough time to share in his childhood triumphs when they had to keep Bill and Charlie out of trouble. But when Fred and George were born, Percy's role in the family quickly became that of the overachiever. He consistently tried to gain his parent's attention through extensive achievement, but the more he did. The more awards and praise he received, the more content they seemed to let him take care of himself.

He could only get so far with Fred and George blocking his every opportunity for greatness. They ruined his work, extensive projects that took him weeks… even months to complete. They soured his disposition considerably, for even when Percy did manage to finish something, to do something right, his moment of glory would be interrupted by another prank. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's faces, bright with happiness and pride would be startled from their revelry by a loud bang, or a scream. Ron would be under attack by a broom with legs. George would be choking on a candy of his own creation, and Percy would be forgotten.

And they'd ruined his first relationship. Penelope Clearwater was too ambitious and beautiful of a woman to be dragged down by a boy who seemed to be constantly behind in his work, yet working constantly. A boy who seemed sad or sullen most of the time, who had trouble smiling. A girl like her didn't need a boy like him.

And so Percy had stormed out of the house, so angry he was nearly blind. He'd nearly ended up in the wrong fireplace, as he'd hissed "Diagon alley" so quietly that it was unintelligible, even to his own ears. He don't know how long he walked through Diagon alley. He was so angry he just stormed ahead, walking so fast he was practically running, muttering to himself in his rage.

And then very suddenly, he stopped.

"Now what?"

It was now dark, or nearing dark, indicating that Percy had spent nearly three hours walking blindly. He stood roughly a mile away from the foot of the mountains, surrounded by deserted shops. None of them were recognizable.

Percy was… without a doubt, lost.

And more importantly, he was late for dinner.

He needed to find a fireplace, and fast. He looked around. Most of the shops were closed. His eyes fell on a small alleyway, one that he wouldn't have seen if he hadn't been looking right at it. A clever bit of architecture, he decided, to have built an alleyway that wasn't even noticeable when it was lit in the darkness. He took a few steps, putting himself directly in front of the alley. The red brick of the buildings turned dark here, and Percy wasn't sure whether the brick colour had actually changed or the darkness of the alley cast a dark shadow over all of the brick. About twenty yards into the alley, a small lantern was resting, lit, over the top of a door.

The alley itself made Percy nervous, and he wasn't certain as to whether or not he really wanted to bother walking down it. It seemed like an awfully dodgy place, and it was so quiet.

"_But I NEED a fireplace_."

That decided him. He walked silently down the alley, looking about him and feeling rather dodgy himself, acting as though an enemy would jump out of the wall.

When he finally reached the door, he felt even more nervous. The door was solid black, but not painted. It looked as though the tree that had provided the wood for this door actually was black. A deep, Basalt looking black, that almost shone under the light of the lantern.

Percy reached for the door, half expecting the handle to bite him. It didn't.

He opened the door, and his mouth fell open. The room was dimly lit, not by magical lights or lanterns, but by three large chandeliers, each housing countless rows of wax candles. The walls were high, and of stone. On the inside, this place was two stories high. The common room, of sorts, was full of round wooden tables, each housing six to eight men. They drank, firewhiskey, if the smell was anything to go on. Loud. And Bawdy. They laughed and joked, and beat upon the tables for more firewhiskey, which was given to them almost immediately by the waitstaff. _Waitstaff?_ The first word that Percy could come up with to describe them, though this hardly described them at all. Girls… errrr… women… wearing dresses that could only be called dresses on a technicality. Archaic gowns in rich colours, that left nothing to the imagination.

Realizing abruptly that he probably seemed conspicuous infront of the door, Percy scanned the room for an out of the way corner, and found just what he was looking for under a canopy extending from the second story. A small table, shrouded in darkness, but from an appropriate vantage point. He kept to the wall, and slunk around to the table, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

After declining an offer of firewhiskey, Percy distracted himself from his thirst to scan the room once more. The girls with their steady streams of firewhiskey, were coming out of a door to the right of the bar itself, from what Percy would have assumed was the stockroom. But here is where Percy became confused. On the second story, above the stockroom, there was a small balcony/walkway, which was lined with several doors, all about the same distance apart. Bright coloured silks and decoration lined the staircase and the railing of this area, and the doors themselves almost appeared to lead into little rooms, not much larger than the one he used to share with Bill.

"_But what are they for?_" Percy thought to himself.

He was suddenly distracted by a loud cheer on the other side of the room. A table had erupted, it appeared, when one of its inhabitants stood up with one of the waitresses. She took something from him, and they proceeded to head for the stockroom, while the man looked back every so often to cast lewd smiles upon his mates.

But they didn't enter the stockroom, instead they made their way up the steps, and into one of the rooms on the second story. The table erupted again as the door slammed shut, and suddenly Percy realized what the doors were for.

"_But… but…. I thought that was illegal…"_ A loud laugh came from inside of the closed door, followed by a crash. _ "Then again maybe not."_

"Are you looking for someone?"

Percy jerked around abruptly, and found, to his immense surprise and dismay, that the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life was standing behind him, and was wearing such a curious expression that Percy could not keep from laughing. The girl only grinned at this, as though Percy were a drunken child. "_Not that I've done anything to dissuade that idea," _Percy thought to himself.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked, seeming to have run out of anything better to say.

"Oh yes." Said Percy, laughing heartily. "I'm quite alright."

"Then you won't mind me sitting down." The girl grinned again.

"Oh not at all… not at all," said Percy, who was excited at the prospect of being able to talk to someone.

He froze, as the girl pushed his chair back, and swung her leg over his knees, bringing herself to a sitting position right on his lap, facing him.

_"Merlin's balls," _ thought Percy numbly, and then admonished himself for thinking of such vulgarity at a time like this…. "_At a time like this…"_

The girl seemed taken aback by his sudden quiet.

"Are you quite alright?" she asked.

"Erm.." Percy couldn't speak for a moment, he was feeling so frightened all of a sudden. So instead he nodded shortly, and then gulped.

She got up from his lap suddenly, and then pulled up a chair, close to him. Her voice became soft.

"You aren't one of these men, nor are you ever likely to become one. What are you doing here?" Her eyes searched his. They pierced his soul, shining darkly in the dim light.

"Actually, I'm a little lost." Said Percy sheepishly. He looked at the ground.

"Lost? And you found your way here. Lucky you."

"Well, you see…" Percy began, and he found the whole story coming out of his lips. How his brothers had gone and torched his reports, and four weeks of his work, and the treaty. She was very sympathetic, and seemed very excited about the ministry itself and his job. He found himself feeling much better, talking with her about how much he enjoyed his work, and how happy he was to do a good job. He didn't add the part about no one understanding his odd familial predicament, it just seemed childish at the moment, and part of him wondered why he'd ever bother feeling sorry for himself.

"So what happens now… with your burned work?"

"Well, I suppose I'll get sacked." Percy became very quiet.

"Why don't you ask your brothers for help? It's horrible what they did, but maybe they can reverse the spell or something, or help you redo the work."

"I suppose… maybe…"

"They're your brothers." She said suddenly, and smiled.

"Who are you?" he asked. She looked taken aback. "No I didn't mean it like that. I mean… what's your name?"

"Oh!" she seemed relieved. "Joselyn."

"It was lovely meeting you Joselyn." He held out his hand.

"You're leaving?"

"I have far too many brothers, and a sister, who may suddenly decide to take an interest in what I'm doing." He stood up.

"Well then," she took his hand and kissed it, making him feel very much like he was being burned alive _along with the reports_, and then looked up at him. "I'll see you around."

_"Oh please, if there is some higher being, a fate, a force that binds, a God, anything…."_ He added as an afterthought.

He then stumbled ever so clumsily out the door, feeling her eyes on him, but not daring to turn around until he was well out into the alleyway, and walking back to the street.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why weren't you at dinner last night Percy?" Ginny Weasley was sitting behind him, doing the best she could to spot him while he lifted repeatedly, noisily expelling air with each contraction.

"Why do you care?" asked Percy sullenly, replacing the weight and releasing his muscles. Ginny just looked at him crossly.

"Percy Weasley, that was a thoroughly childish thing to say." Ginny handed him the towel.

"Well, I left after Fred and George got me sacked." Percy wiped his face and tried to remain calm as he reiterated his point again.

"Do shutup Percy, you haven't been sacked yet."

"But I will," said Percy with absolute certainty, "Four weeks of work down the drain… Crouch will never stand for it."

"Bah… Crouch.. sounds like Crotch." Ginny wrinkled her nose, "and if you get sacked that will forever be my highest opinion of him." Ginny pulled a chair up to the bench and sat down near Percy. "Have you bothered to talk to Fred and George about it?"

"It's five o'clock in the morning Ginny."

"Well I thought you might have talked to them last night." Ginny shrugged.

"I didn't come home until well after they'd gone to bed." Percy tried to seem nonchalant about this, though he knew this abnormal behavior was what Ginny was after.

"Which," Ginny seized the opportunity, "coincidentally, is what I asked you about in the first place."

"I walked around angry for a bit, and lost my direction." Percy sat up from the bench and stretched.

"And it took you four hours to find a fireplace?" said Ginny. Percy glared at Ginny. "Come on Percy," Ginny pleaded. "You know I can keep a secret."

"Oh really?" said Percy, beginning to become exasperated. Ginny glared at him and gestured to the room itself.

About a year and a half before, Percy had been spending a rather boring summer at home by himself. He hadn't yet started working at the ministry, and found that without school he had nothing to do, apart from reading the Daily Prophet. So while the rest of his family was either at work or out playing Quidditch, Percy explored his house, or rather, his basement and attic, neither location having originally been of much interest to him.

One afternoon, he discovered an at home gym set of sorts, weights, a press, that sort of thing. He imagined it was something Bill or Charlie had picked up with the idea of improving their Quidditch skills, or impressing a girl… something of that sort. For Percy, it presented itself as a diversion. So, with nothing better to do, Percy dragged the entire monstrosity down to the basement, with the help of the attic ghoul, who seemed more than happy to get it out of his way.

Percy spent time repairing the set, working out how to use it, traveling to a library in London every now and then to read up on the subject, knowing somehow that if he didn't he'd end up hurting himself.

And finally, he took great care to get up very early in the morning, before anyone else, to go down to the basement and lift. He had to keep it a secret. Bill and Charlie might decide they want it back. Ron would want to use it. Fred and George would tease Percy, and then destroy it. And so every morning he'd lift, then go back upstairs and get back in his pajamas, and pretend to sleep until breakfast.

But then one morning, near the end of August, he'd gone down at five in the morning to find Ginny waiting for him.

She admonished him, much like Mrs. Weasley would have, for lifting without someone to spot him. And then she said she'd keep his dirty little secret if she could come down and spot him every morning.

And so it became ritual for Percy and Ginny. Percy had never had a friend like her, and looked forward to it every night upon going to sleep. Percy would lift, and Ginny would talk, and sometimes they'd both talk, and they'd fill up the morning with secrets and troubles and joys. And then they'd have something to share at the breakfast table every morning.

"Nothing secret about it Ginny, I got lost," said Percy shortly. Somehow, as much as he wanted to tell someone, he didn't think it was the right time to profess to Ginny that he'd found a woman he wanted to….

Well, truth be told he didn't even know what he wanted, except to see her again… very much.

"You're really buffing up Percy. If you'd wear something a bit less on the concealing side you'd really impress the male members of this household." Ginny grinned mischeviously.

"You of all people know, Ginny," said Percy, throwing on a shirt, "that I have no interest whatsoever in impressing any of the male members of this family… c'ept Dad of course, and I doubt I'll be able to do that with a large torso."

"Large isn't the word I'd use to describe it Perce…." Said Ginny tactfully. "I've no doubt that you're most likely the most attractive member of this family with their shirt off… c'ept me of course but that's a tad inappropriate don't you think."

Percy just stared for a moment. "Yeah," he said finally, "I suppose inappropriate would be the best way to describe it."

"I don't know why you bother combing your sweaty hair when you're just going to hop back in bed anyhow." Said Ginny.

"Call it habit then." Percy put the comb down and began cleaning off the bench press. "I need a focus, Gin, this is my focus. It's one of the only physical things I do anymore and it's improved my work performance."

"Oh good. We should always be striving to improve our already spotless work record." Ginny's sarcasm was not lost on Percy.

"With Fred and George around?" Percy stared at Ginny.

"Good point, forget I said that." Ginny helped Percy stack the free weights.

"Eh… time for bed." Said Percy. Ginny smiled. It was one of their ongoing jokes.

"Right then… goodnight Percy."

And they crept silently to bed. Percy removed his t-shirt and buttoned up his pajama top and crawled under the covers, savouring the last few bits of silence he would get today. He'd have to ask Fred and George about salvaging his job today. Would they help him? Would they understand what a disaster it would be if Percy were sacked?

He awoke about two hours later feeling a tad uneasy, but nevertheless went downstairs at his usual time, yawning and stretching on cue, though it really wasn't necessary.

"Oh look, it's Mr. Boring." Fred said smugly as Percy sat down across the table from him.

"Honestly Fred, you would think someone as interesting as you would be able to come up with something more interesting to say," said Ginny thoughtfully, picking up an orange from the bowl and rolling it across the table to Percy, who grabbed it and smiled gratefully at Ginny.

Breakfast passed uneventfully, for the Weasley household. The only incident occurred when Mr. Weasley reached for a strip of bacon, only to discover that it became a rubber chicken when he touched it. Mr. Weasley found the whole incident quite amusing, while Mrs. Weasley took the rubber chicken and started beating George over the head with it, until George turned it back into a piece of bacon.

Percy, receiving glares from Ginny who knew he was procrastinating, offered to help Mrs. Weasley clean up after breakfast. She graciously turned him down, and he was left with no alternative, but to go up to Fred and George's room and discuss his ruined work.

He opened the door cautiously, afraid something would explode. Fred and George looked rather surprised to see him, which boosted his confidence a bit. He closed the door behind him.

"Fred, George," he nodded respectively, and they looked at each other. "We need to talk."


	3. Chapter 3

"I told you it was a good idea." Joselyn brushed Percy's arm, a mock hit of sorts, as Percy told her how his conversation with Fred had George had turned out.

"Well how was I to know… they've never helped me before." Percy still seemed a bit stunned by the whole ordeal. He had gone into Fred and George's room to talk to them about his work, and Fred and George had reacted by laughing and brushed past Percy en route to his room.

"Wait… wait what are you doing?" Percy followed Fred and George, fearing for all other flammable materials in his room. All at once they stopped in front of his desk. "Don't you dare," muttered Percy angrily. They couldn't possibly be that cruel.

"Percy's pissed practicality," they chanted together, and then "recrato." And all of a sudden the ashes and soot began to come together in a great cloud, and in a few seconds, Percy's reports, quite perfectly as he'd left them, were sitting on his desk.

"Come on know Perce," said George, almost sympathetically, to a shocked Percy. "It's all in good fun."

It occurred to Percy sometime later, that, had he been in his right mind he would have murdered Fred and George on the spot for putting him in that horrible state of preparatory-sacked-hopelessness. But he was so shocked at their genius, and so relieved to have his reports back on his desk in one piece that he immediately forgave them for all transgressions and threatened them with no other malady, though he did question their twisted definition of the word humor.

"You've got to admit Percy," said Joselyn. "They must have really thought it was a good one."

"Mmmmm…" Percy nodded. "Bought as funny as making Jack-in-the-boxes that look like he-who-must-not-be-named."

Joselyn put her hand on his arm, and Percy felt as though he was suddenly burning up. After being shocked out of his skin he'd needed someone to talk to, and Ginny had been taking a bath at the time. Sister or no, Percy was not of the mind to sit on the toilet and talk to Ginny while she removed hair from her legs…. Or whatever girls do while in the bathroom. So, feeling reckless at the sudden opportunity, he whipped on his cloak, and flooed to Diagon alley, hiding his face as he passed into the alley he'd found the night before.

Joselyn had seemed surprised, pleasantly, to see him, and with little difficulty they found a moderately quiet place to sit and talk. The inn, bar, or whatever it was (Percy had trouble defining it) was only horribly noisy during the night hours, and it was only five or six o'clock now. Early evening.

And Joselyn's hand still hadn't left his arm…oh my….

"Percy," said Joselyn…a little concerned, "are you alright?"

"Erm… yeah… yeah… I'm fine." He said, in a high pitched voice that was not his own. He felt funny, having told her all of this. She knew his name now, and about his brothers and sisters, and mum and dad. He had told her about his quiet (sans Fred and George) job, and about his demanding boss Mr. Crouch.

"He still doesn' t know my name you know," said Percy stiffly. "He's forever calling me Whetherbee."

"Well, at least you have a respectable job, no matter what your name is," she said. She almost sounded bitter, but when she looked up at him she smiled.

"How did you end up working here? If you don't mind my asking?" Percy looked down at his hands, that were now tracing the grain of the table.

"A friend. She wanted to come here and work, not being smart enough to get a ministry job, and not wanting to work at a simple tavern. She liked the costumes, such a tart." Here Joselyn started to laugh. "And so I came with her, and ended up workin with her."

"what happened to her?" asked Percy. He didn't have any friends he'd do that for, except maybe Ginny, and Ginny would never even think about working in a place like this.

"Oh….. she's still here." Said Joselyn, and she seemed almost angry now. "She and I aren't friends anymore. She's always accusing me of stealing her tips."

"Then why are you still here then?" Percy still could not imagine such a friend, who would drag someone down to work with them in such a place.

"See that old woman over there behind the bar?" Joselyn pointed to a cheerful old woman behind the bar, more modestly dressed than the rest of them, and wearing a tad too much makeup.

"Yes…"

"I think I'd break her heart if I left. I'm her favorite you see, and she likes this kind of thing." Joselyn looked down at Percy's hands, still fingering the wood grain.

"Can't she tell that you hate it here?" Percy was slightly miffed.

"Can you?" Joselyn looked up at Percy with eyes so bright they looked like stars. "Yes…" she didn't wait for him to answer, "I suppose you can."

"My sister," Percy began after a moment, "is always saying that things can always get better. That's the only thing I can think of to say at the moment."

Joselyn looked puzzled for a moment, and then started to laugh helplessly, her face turning red. "That's wonderful!" she said with all sincerity. And then she glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"You'd better be going Percy, or you'll be late for dinner again."

Percy glanced up at the clock, and then sighed.

"Can I see you tomorrow then?" he asked, feeling rather brave and reckless.

"I suppose so… does it have to be here?" Joselyn stood up and started straightening her skirts.

"No… I suppose not. Shall I get a room at the leaky cauldron or something?" Percy pondered this idea for a moment "We can have tea."

"Three o'clock then?" said Joselyn. She seemed suddenly downcast, and Percy assumed it was because she'd be serving drinks to a room full of scoundrels in a matter of hours.

"Better make it a late tea at four, I don't want to be late because of work." Percy practically bounced. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said eagerly. "Goodbye Joselyn" and he whipped his cloak over his head and swept out the door, Joselyn laughing at his boyish manner.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ah yes…" Barty Crouch had just stepped into Percy's cubicle. He looked quite haggard indeed, and Percy wondered whether or not he was going to have to take Mr. Crouch to St. Mungo's. "Mr. Weasley," Percy's head snapped up. It was the first time since Mr. Crouch hired him that he'd actually referred to Percy by his actual name.

"Yes Mr. Crouch," Percy stood up, wondering what it was that Mr. Crouch remembered his name for.

"Mr. Weasley, I am here to request that you remove your things from this cubicle no later than Friday." There was a pause.

"Sir… I'm being sacked?" Percy didn't understand, the reports had been turned in weeks ahead of schedule, which was more due to Percy's paranoia, having the reports lying helpless in his room with Fred and George down the hall.

"Sacked? Goodness no," said Crouch, who almost looked cheerful. "It seems as though the Department of International Magical Cooperation is in need of your perseverance. The head of the International Magical Trading Standards Body has requested you, as a ministry official in the field. You will of course have your own office, for meetings and such. You'll be a representative of sorts, right after you complete about two weeks of training for such an important position."

Percy was frozen in air. He couldn't believe his luck. Promoted. He was being promoted? HE HAD MANAGED TO BE PROMOTED! He hadn't known there was an opening in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. A field official. Goodness, that meant he'd be able to travel! To leave England and go to other countries. What an opportunity!

"Well," said Mr. Crouch, smirking at Percy's obvious shock, "I'll just leave you to it then." And he shut the door and walked away.

Percy leaped into the air, and immediately started clearing his desk. He felt obligated to finish his last reports. It would be a waste to start them and not finish them. By the time 3:30 rolled around he had only a few reports left, and a half cleared desk. Feeling even more excited at the prospect of seeing Joselyn again, he reminded himself that he had one more day to finish his move and snatched his cloak from the stand by the door.

He made it to the leaky cauldron in under four minutes, and was just finishing stacking tea cakes on the spindly wooden table when Joselyn walked through the door.

"Joselyn!" He ran to her from across the room. She smiled widely, but seemed a little unnerved by his enthusiasm. "I've been promoted!" He laughed and jumped into the air again.

"Promoted!" she said, just as happily. "Percy that's wonderful!"

"Oh, I know!" he grinned widely. "Have some tea then." He pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you," and she sat down. He poured the tea and sat opposite her, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Keep grinning like that and your face will stick that way," she said teasingly.

"What?" Percy said in mock indignation, "You don't think I'd look attractive with a big fat grin on my face for the rest of my life?"

Joselyn threw a cake at him.

Percy came home a little bit later feeling a bit under the weather. He was still a little in shock when he finally came home, not quite late for dinner, but cutting it close. He and Joselyn had shared a lovely tea. Had he embarrassed her at the end? Was she angry with him? Was he just being a coward?

There was a pause in conversation, and… heart beating fast, that it was odd seeing her out of the costume she had to wear where she worked, but that she still looked quite fetching… maybe even more so.

She'd stood up, and slid her tunic over her shoulders, slowly, letting it fall to the ground.

Percy panicked, and immediately turned round, leapt out of his seat.

"Joselyn?" he trembled, gripping the chair with white knuckles. "What are you doing?"

"I thought that this was what you wanted…" she seemed confused, and a little embarrassed. Percy could only stand for a moment, and then violently shake his head, utterly terrified to turn round.

She appeared a few moments later, fully clothed, at his side.

"Percy?" she said softly, and she touched his trembling shoulder. "It's alright. Everything will be fine now."

"I know." Percy choked out, trying very much for his voice not to turn into a squeak.

She wrapped her arms around him, and put her head on his shoulders. His hand, shaking, went to her head, and he stroked her hair, running his fingers through its golden waves.

He'd never felt quite like that before. Though, he conceded, no woman had ever disrobed in front of him before either.

The whole ordeal was on his mind when he walked into his house. He walked into the kitchen to find his whole family waiting for him, with an enormous cake and dinner laid out… on the cake were the words "Congradulations Perce," written over a faded "Mr. Boring." Percy almost chuckled. Fred and George had tried to engrave his cake.

"What's the matter Perce?" said Bill, almost worriedly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Nothing… oh I'm fine… Did Crouch tell you?" he said, in an effort to change the subject.

"Well of course he didn't," said Mrs. Weasley.

"That's right.." said Mr. Weasley, putting an arm around his wife… "heard it through the grapevine at work."

"Surprised Fred and me," said George, smiling, "we always thought your overeager nature would have you shuffling paperwork no one else wants to touch for the rest of your life." Fred nodded.

"Congradulations Percy," said Charlie happily, raising his glass of punch. Bill clapped him on the back.

"Come now Percy," said Fred. "What's the matter, you look as though your mental train has derailed."

"No," said Percy, starting to refocus… "it's just… thank you." He smiled widely and sat down.

"That's right Perce," said Fred, "a night of no pranks just for you." And the table broke out in chatter and congradulations. Percy was surprised at this sudden burst of attention, and secretly hoped he got promoted more often. This was better than his birthday. Everyone in the family, even Fred and George, kept asking him questions about his new job.

"How much are you getting paid now," asked Ron with his mouth full. A typical question from Ron, but a question none the less.

"What does your new office look like?" said Ginny, no doubt wanting to shower it in African violets and pictures of family.

Tucking himself into bed that night, it occurred to Percy that he could remember such a wonderful night with his family.

And then a firecracker exploded as he put his head upon the pillow.

"FRED!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Why'd you have that look on your face last night?" said Ginny, feigning innocence.

"Well I was bloody surprised wasn't I?"

"Yes… I suppose you were," Ginny looked unconvinced.

"I've never had a party thrown especially for me. Not with anybody in attendance anyhow. Usually it's just mum and dad and a cake for twelve people." Percy gritted his teeth and lifted the barbell from the press.

"Still…" said Ginny, throwing her hair back. "It seemed almost as though you didn't even notice we were there until one of us said something… loudly. You were completely in your own world Perce, I don't think I've ever seen you quite like that."

"Yes, well…" Percy sighed and lifted the bell again. "We will continually exhale be surprised."

"Indeed," said Ginny.

"Shock of being promoted and all of that." Percy remarked shortly, trying to dissuade Ginny from more questions.

No such luck. "You were promoted at 2:30 yesterday afternoon Percy. You arrived home at six o'clock…. Surely over three hours is quite enough to collect yourself."

"This is the first time I've ever been promoted Ginny, and as Fred and George so eloquently said yesterday evening, with my overeager nature, I'm immensely lucky not to be doing horrid jobs no one else wants to do for the rest of my life."

"A good story Perce," Ginny sighed. "Quoting the wise Gred and Forge."

"Bite me."

"No. You're my brother."

"Well said."

"And you're acting like you've seen an apparition… a ghost or specter of sorts. What is it Perce?"

_He sat in shock, watching the fabric slide down her creamy shoulder, hearing the fabric slide as if it were as deafening as a bomb… The tunic fell, showing every curve, every hollow, every…._

"Nothing Ginny. Honestly."

"Fine," she said… defeated and amused. She threw the towel at him.

She ended up going up to bed earlier than he did too. He was so very slow cleaning everything up. Moving like a zombie.

"Goodnight Perce," Ginny said hopefully from the stairs, hoping maybe he'd snap out of it.

No such luck.

"G'night Gin," he said vaguely. Ginny groaned softly and trudged up the stairs.

Percy daydreamed all the way up to bed. He tried to stop himself, but found he just couldn't. That single moment in the Leaky Cauldron was repeating itself over and over again inside his head. He just couldn't bring himself to wipe her away.

And in his dreams the moment became moments, his dream self swept her away with passion, while his real self just sat… horrified, but oddly accepting. In his dream he didn't just see her as he had in the Cauldron, he touched her. Ran his fingers over her skin, kissed her shoulders as if they were the morning sun. His hand ran its fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her neck as his lips caressed her collarbone.

And then he woke up, and abruptly realized, that he could not go downstairs to breakfast in his current state. It seemed his other brain had been the one dreaming, and that it hadn't woken up when he did. He lay there for what felt like an eternity, and getting impatient, he sat up and stared at himself. Willing IT to go away with all of his might.

Minutes passed, and still no luck. _GO AWAY_! Percy screamed in his head. This is not the time. He was really beginning to get hungry.

All of a sudden, Ginny burst into the room.

"Perce, what?... WHAT THE…" Ginny managed to choke of the remainder of the phrase by slapping her hand over her mouth.

Percy on the other hand, had grabbed a pillow and thrust it over his pants, giving him more coverage than his pajamas did, but feeling rather awkward all the same. Ginny, by this time, had begun to laugh.

"Well at least now I know why you aren't at breakfast," she said, laughing so hard that it seemed as though she was choking on her own spit.

"This is dramatically humiliating, though I think it would be even more so if Fred and George were up here." Percy couldn't look at Ginny. Though she was sympathetic, her amusement made Percy a tad resentful. SHE'D never had to deal with THIS.

"Well the only reason I'm laughing is that Fred and George thought you'd never…" here she paused, turning a bit red in the face herself, "They thought you'd never… well…"

"React to a woman in a purely primal way?" Percy said crisply.

"The exact phrase, verbatim" Ginny looked at her feet, and then at Percy. "Fred and George I'm sure have dreams like that all the time, and I KNOW Ron does."

"A comfort," said Percy, still feeling rather as though he was prancing around Ginny naked wearing tribal paint rather than fully clothed with a pillow covering up his…. Naughty bits as it were.

And he was still hungry, damn it all.

"Alright Perce," said Ginny after a moment. "Just this once I'll say you aren't feeling well… and bring you breakfast in bed. But just this once! I'm never bringing you breakfast in bed again."

"Thank you Ginny," Percy began, but she'd already left.

She came back a few moments later with a plate of eggs, bacon and toast with orange marmalade. A glass of milk was resting precariously near the edge of the tray, looking as though any moment it might fall off. Ginny expertly held the tray with one hand and shut the door with the other. She then put the tray on Percy's bedside table and watching in amusement as he shimmied over to the tray, not sitting up, and absolutely refusing to move the pillow.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of you know," she said suddenly. He glared at her pointedly. "The story went over well," she said, changing the subject. "They think you're a bit frightened about starting your first day of your new job."

"First of all," he said with a mouthful of bacon. "I don't start my new job today, I start it Monday. And second of all," he downed a gulp of milk. "I have to go through two weeks of training before I actually take the position anyway."

"My point, Percy," Ginny seemed nearly sullen now. "Was that they bought it."

"Oh," Percy took a bite of toast.

"If you'd been listening you would have caught that."

"I'm sorry… what?" Percy looked up from his breakfast, looking for all the world as though he had nothing more in the world to do but sit there and eat toast with orange marmalade.

"What is WITH you!" Ginny exclaimed, beginning to pace in what little space Percy's bedroom had. "You've been out of it for three days now. I've never seen you this distracted. Is it the job?"

Percy nodded abruptly.

Ginny stared.

"Well alright then," and she walked out of the room and closed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

"She found you with what?" Joselyn asked incredulously. Her already earth-shattering smile widened, and Percy felt that jolt again in his chest. He felt it for the first time when he first saw her, a slight swell and flutter, as though his heart were trying to break out of his ribs. He felt it again every so often, not sure why, but knowing he liked it.

"Yes… yes she did." Percy grinned sheepishly at Joselyn's mischevious face. "Hey," he remarked defensively, "a man cannot be blamed for what his mind does when he is asleep."

"Can't he?" Joselyn curled up in the chair, bringing her knees to her chest. Percy felt that fluttering again, and the heat rise to his face. He hadn't told her what he'd been dreaming about, or who he'd been dreaming about. He wasn't planning on it either.

"What's it like?" Percy had been thinking about asking her this question for some time, but he didn't know how to phrase it… or how to say it without making it sound as though he were springing it on her.

"What's what like?" Joselyn uncurled herself from her position, her smile faltering. She took another sip of tea.

"What you do for a living." Percy shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Serving drinks isn't so bad, you just need to be careful not to get anything on you." Joselyn giggled, but her heart plainly wasn't in it.

"I don't mean that…" here he paused, wondering how to say such a thing without seeming unforgivable crude. "I mean… the other thing you do."

She did not speak, or laugh, or seem offended. She merely quieted and took another sip of tea. It seemed an eternity before she answered.

"I've grown accustomed to it. Maybe even talented. I couldn't say." She didn't look at him. Her eyes were focused through him, as if he were sitting beside her, watching with her.

"Do you… like it." It felt so cold… asking her these things.

"No… but I wish I did." She crossed her legs and downed the rest of the tea. Percy could not bear to ask another question in this vein. As it turned out, he didn't have to. She continued after a moment.

"I really do wish I did. I wish I could make someone feel so good, so right, so happy, without feeling so empty every time." She closed her eyes, and Percy felt as though he might break something.

"Joselyn," he said after a moment, quietly, for he feared he may choke. "Would you feel badly, if I told you that I cared about you?"

"You care about me Percy?" said Joselyn. Now she was looking right at him, and her eyes were shining. Bright green in the light.

"Yes…" he didn't look at her, afraid of what her face would look like. There was a silence, an agony for Percy who didn't know what to say.

"I have to leave," he said suddenly, needing to say something… anything. "I'm going to be late for dinner."

"Okay," she said, in a tone Percy could not define. He glanced at her as he stood up, and she was looking back at him. He turned to the door and left without saying anything, feeling a fool.


	7. Chapter 7

"You're acting rather stoic this morning Percy," remarked Ginny casually, though there was an undertone of real concern in her voice.

"In English please… Percy nearly grunted, pushing the weight up slowly. His whole body was vibrating with effort.

"That was English… stoic as in… unemotional."

"Am I emotional in the morning," he brought the weight back down to his chest.

"Not particularly… let me rephrase," Ginny stopped for a moment, pondering, Percy assumed, her choice of words. "Deliberately stoic, as if you've done something rather daft, or someone else did something rather daft to you and you don't want to talk about it.

This time Percy said nothing, he merely grunted, pushing the weight back up into the air.

"You see my point?" Ginny said. Again Percy was silent.

The truth was that Percy didn't care whether or not Ginny knew what he was feeling, but he couldn't very well tell her that for quite some time now he'd been nearly silent, contemplating his relationship with Joselyn Attache. They were friends, of that he had no doubt. He had no doubt that if she every asked him he would leave his job at the ministry without hesitation and go wherever she wanted.

But he knew deep down that it wasn't nearly that simple. He saw something he was unable to define every time he looked into her eyes. He found himself thinking about her at odd moments during the day, despite his history of discipline.

And at night….

He had stolen a ribbon from her on the night she had disrobed in front of him. She had left first that day, and he had found on the ground a ribbon that had been in her hair before she'd let it down. She hadn't bothered to put it back up. He needed so much to just leave it there, to let Tom get it. But some wanting in him compelled him to grasp it, to feel it in his hand and rub it against his fingers.

It had become a sort of talisman, never visible, but nearly always with him. There were moments during his new work day when he'd have to completely break concentration just to open his drawer and touch it, just to touch it and grasp it and bring it up to his face smelling her and seeing her at the same time.

He slept with it on his bedside table, a comfort far enough away, he felt, that he could be safe in his dreams.

How wrong he was.

There was a point where for one week solid he dreamed of nothing but her, or more accurately them together. Such vivid dreams these were, getting more and more heated each night. The incident at which Ginny found him in the morning did not happen again, but the dreams continued, and he was too embarrassed in the morning to tell Ginny about them.

"Towel?" Ginny handed it to him kindly, not quite as spiteful as she'd been the other morning. He'd pointed out to her a few days later that she did not tell him every aspect of her life and therefore that she should not expect him to do the same. She'd understood.

"Good luck today Percy," she said before going up to bed.

Percy was leaving today for Spain to discuss a treaty with the Spanish equivalent of the ministry's manager of magic motor maintenance. Apparently the Spanish ministry had begun creating muggle automobiles that could fly in the upper troposphere, avoiding detection. This bit of information was one that he'd not shared with his father. There had already been at total of twenty-one sightings of such devices in South-West Britain, and the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee had already sent a request to the Obliviator headquarters requesting the removal of a new department in the British Muggle Aerospace administration, dedicated to the research and identification of these flying automobiles. The obliviators had barely gotten to them before the muggle press did.

Percy would be leaving at seven o'clock in the evening, leaving him enough time to see Joselyn before he left, to let her know he'd be gone. _And see her and smell her and taste her scent in the air_… said a treacherous voice inside of him. Was this what all men felt at some point in their life? Percy mused for a moment about his parents relationship, and then quickly quelled the thought. _Not something I want to think about_…

The day passed agonizingly slowly. Percy's schedule was clear, in preparation for the meeting in Spain. He hadn't needed it. Percy did very little that wasn't work related. More now, with Joselyn in his life. He leafed through the muggle sighting articles again, more to make it seem like he was doing something than anything else.

A pause, and Percy looked around his office. There was one plant, courtesy of Ginny, a nondescript green plant that looked lively and healthy and needed next to no maintenance, a picture of his family on the wall behind the plant. A few achievement awards, some of which Percy couldn't actually remember winning. He used to keep a log of it, some kind of self-esteem boost for whenever he needed it. He hadn't in quite some time, and anyway. He thought that the log itself was lost.

He opened the drawer, unable to bear it any longer. Grasped the ribbon pulled it up to him, swept it across his lips, taking in the scent of her hair and skin as if it were a drug. He breathed deeply.

Was this obsession? He wondered. But the wonder was short lived. Whether or not it was obsession, it no longer mattered. He thought fleetingly of telling her that today, before he left for Spain. Could he wait another four days? Would she still be here when he came back? Foolish questions, the more sensible part of him said. But the heart holding the hand to the ribbon begged to differ. Perfectly ordinary questions…. His heart raced, holding back and still overflowing.

At 2:30 Percy had to work very hard not to run out of the building, as it was he took long, quick strides and reached the Leaky Cauldron ten minutes earlier than he would have at his normal pace. He paced the room, wondering. Should he tell her?

He fell back, onto the bed, feeling it envelope him comfortingly. _What would my family think of her? Someone in her profession… Not as horrific as a deatheater, but still… Mother, what will she think, her son consorting with Scarlet women? Meeting beautiful girls in places such as those… hovels… She might not care about who Joselyn really is, maybe she'll think horribly of her. _

Percy grasped the ribbon in his hand. Where was she? He glanced at the clock. It was nearly three-fifteen and she still hadn't arrived. Usually, she was here before he was.

He poured himself a cup of tea, downed it, grasped for a sandwich, and then put it back, suddenly aware of the fact that he was not at all hungry. The tea, still quite hot, scalded his throat, but he hardly noticed.

At four-thirty he was beginning to grow quite worried. The ribbon he held became sweaty, gripped in his wringing hands. Did something happen to her on her way here? Did something happen where she lived or worked?

Trying to calm himself at 6 o'clock, Percy told himself that something had probably happened to the woman Joselyn stayed miserable for, and that she was very old indeed. It was nearly seven now, and so Percy wrote out a note for Joselyn, should she arrive after he'd left.

_Joselyn,_

_I missed you today, I hope everything's alright. I had to leave because I have a business trip in Spain over the next few days. My thoughts will be with you, such as they are, and I hope to see you upon my return. I'll be here on Thursday at the usual time._

_Yours,_

_ Percy_

Percy walked briskly out of the room, quelling the urge to stay and wait for her until she arrived. The portkey office waits for no man, he reminded himself, something that Albus Dumbledore had told him once before the Quidditch World Cup.

She would be here, when he got back, he reassured himself apparating to the Ministry of Magic entrance.


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny thought about it long and hard, and had finally come to the conclusion that her brother was quite mad indeed. He'd been acting strangely when he'd come back from Spain, before Spain, now that she thought about it. Even stranger now that he was back. He acted savage, more like Ron, or Harry when he was furious, but Ginny had never seen Percy like this before. Ever…

And there seemed to be nothing at all that she could do about it. He refused to talk about it, not that he was being entirely secretive, she knew something was wrong. But he seemed so absorbed in his own thoughts that even if he did tell her, she didn't think he had the mental capability at the time to be able to make her understand.

But Ginny felt she needed to know. Percy was going to hurt himself like he'd almost done in the basement the other morning.

She'd been spotting him, as usual, when he started doing reps faster, and faster until finally she tore the weight from his hands, almost hurting her own arm muscles in the process.

"What's got into you Percy?" she said, frightened at his sudden burst of feeling.

"Nothing…" he'd say shortly and toweled himself off. And it was always nothing nowadays. Getting a straight answer out of Percy was like trying to pick all of the fleas off of Crookshanks. It simply could not be done.

Not that she'd given up. She took great care trying to spend as much time with Percy as possible. She might even have been annoying him at this point. On Monday she'd walked into his room to find him bent over something in his hands.

"Perce?" she said softly, a little frightened of this odd behavior.

He jolted out of whatever world he'd been in and shoved the obscured object into the top drawer of his desk.

"Yes Ginny?" he said, just as softly, trying to hide the tremble in his voice.

"Dinner's soon," she continued, edging toward his bed and sitting down at the edge of it. "I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Here there was a pause, Percy was staring blankly out of the window. His brows furrowed. Clearly he was thinking about something.

"Are you okay?" Ginny leaned forward, not sure whether or not he'd answered her.

"I'm fine Ginny," he said abruptly, and then he stood up so fast that Ginny jumped. "I suppose we ought to go down to dinner then," he said without looking at her, and then strode briskly out of the door.

The truth was that not even Percy was sure what was wrong with him. He'd come back from Spain to find that Joselyn had seemingly vanished without a trace. He could not find her anywhere. She'd not come back to the leaky cauldron, according to Tom. Percy had gone to the tavern where she worked and found out, from the old barwoman, that Joselyn had quit her job the day before he left for Spain and hadn't been seen since.

And Percy… well, he went a little mad. He created a private file on her at the ministry and had started collecting information on her. Interviews with the other women who worked at the tavern had yielded no results, and most of the other past history he'd collected, though new to him, had provided little insight as to where she'd gone.

As the days went on, Percy grew more and more determined to find her. He tried to remember their conversations, and wrote them down, and studied them for clues. He knew she'd wanted to leave. She'd hated her job. But where had she gone exactly, and why hadn't she said anything to him. He couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. He still wasn't certain as to whether or not she was alright, which was part of the reason why he was so determined to find her. He was furious with himself for not being able to do it.

"You love her, do you?" said the woman behind the bar.

"What makes you say that ma'am?" Percy jerked with emotion, and then repressed it quickly.

"My dear boy, when you are as old as I am, you will be able to tell when a boy is in love," The woman smiled at him warmly. But for Percy these words held no comfort, he had to find her.

The time late at night that he used to spend getting word done ahead of time was now spent searching the city for her, not just Diagon Alley but London itself. And he had no more luck finding her among muggles. Still he kept on, sweeping the countryside in his black cloak, searching for her nearly everywhere.

His eyes grew dark and tired, and he didn't eat much anymore. He knew Ginny was worried, he still looked healthy enough, but she could tell he was getting thinner by the week, and his eyes looked in desperate need of sleep.

"Percy, I don't think you should lift this morning," she said one day, waiting for him on the steps of the basement.

And then later, after he'd started to lift and was nearing the end of a set.

"Percy, I think you should stop now." She glared at him, trying to make him see sense.

"No Ginny, I can't stop now," he gasped.

And then he collapsed in front of her.


	9. Chapter 9

Percy was not quite well again when it happened. He had gained back most of the weight he'd lost, though he was still a bit slender, and he'd begun catching up on his sleep, though his face still had a gaunt look. He was looking less and less like a skeleton, and work had become normal again. He'd stopped looking for Joselyn at night. There was really no point. He'd found no new leads, nothing but dead ends. He kept her file though. Somehow he just couldn't bring himself to pitch it.

And he still had the ribbon in his desk. And he still brought it out now and then to smell it and touch it and make sure that Joselyn hadn't been a dream after all, but a real person whom he'd known and loved. The ends of the ribbon had become frayed, but somehow her scent remained, and now and then at night Percy would allow himself to hold it and cry for a bit. In grief…frustration… rage…. All sorts of different emotions that he sobbed into his pillow in the darkness.

At least he was sleeping.

"Mr. Weasley?" the department manager stuck her head into his office.

"Yes?" he looked up, caught off guard by her entrance. He wasn't supposed to have any meetings today. He had quite a lot of paperwork to catch up on.

"There's a mediwitch here to see you. It's something about an accident that happened on a train this morning.

"Send her in," Percy sighed. The hospital had been after the department to fix a design flaw on the train that continued to cause injury on occasion. He shuffled the paper on his desk, trying to figure out what he'd tell the mediwitch.

He heard the door close, and then an audible gasp. He looked up.

Joselyn was standing before him, looking like some sort of angel in the white uniform robes of the mediwitches. He felt himself get hot, and then cold, and then hot again.

"I just came to ask you about the design flaw on the trains," she said slowly, as though trying to convince herself that he was someone else. "We've had two more injuries this week. Passengers who've had their hands stuck to the railing on the train."

"Well," Percy cleared his throat, attempting to speak normally, "we aren't really sure what charm went amiss to produce such results. We've sent the appropriate requests to research and development, as well as the accidental reversal squad and we've been assured that it's their top priority."

"Well, alright." Said Joselyn.

Here there was a silence. What was there to be said. Percy, of course, wanted very much for her to give him an explanation, but had no idea how to ask for one.

"Percy I'm so sorry," she said suddenly. "I just…. After that day I couldn't stay where I was anymore. I had to do something. I left the tavern and I went to Saint Mungo's and got a job as a mediwitch in training. It's… Percy I wanted to make you proud of me." Her voice was shaky and quiet, as though she wasn't capable of speaking above a whisper.

"Why?" he tried to keep the rising anger out of his voice. "Why didn't you say anything." He closed his eyes, gripping the desk.

"I don't know." She said pitifully, and her lips trembled.

"You don't know?" he said, his voice rising. "A month and no word and you don't know?" he was nearly yelling now. A voice inside him… reason he supposed, told him to sit down. He did.

"Thank you Ms. Attache, I can assure you that the ministry is doing everything we can to solve the problem." He took his last report off of the stack, thinking that if he just begun writing he could forget she was there.

"Percy don't do this," she pleaded, her voice darkening.

"Do what!" He snarled, sweeping his arm across the desk angrily. Paper went flying everywhere. Joselyn jumped back, frightened at his outburst. He ripped open the desk drawer and took out the ribbon.

"Take it back," he advanced on her, holding the ribbon before him. "Take it back."

"Percy, what is this?" she seemed confused.

"You took it out of your hair that night." He said quietly. "Now take it back, I don't want it anymore."

"But Percy, it doesn't matter, it's just…"

"Take it back, please Joselyn, just take it back I beg you."

"Percy, no… Why?"

"TAKE IT BACK!" he cried, white knuckled. He was gulping and rasping inside, trying to keep the tears in his eyes where they belonged.

Her hand crept up to his, slowly, as though she were afraid he'd attack her. She reached out to take the ribbon, and her hand touched his. Percy felt a jolt at her touch, his heart raced, and his already ragged breathing intensified. She tugged a bit, slowly, detaching the ribbon from his grip. He felt her hand slide across his fingers as the ribbon wound it's way out of his fingers.

Abruptly, he felt something in him break, and in a moment he'd grasped her hand, and swept forward, covering her mouth with his. She gasped, nearly cried out at this sudden fright, but her gasp turned into a soft moan so quiet it was nearly inaudible. His lips moved so fast that it was difficult for her to keep up. She returned the kiss with all the enthusiasm he could have wished for. His hands were everywhere, finally coming to rest behind her head, his fingers entangled in her hair.

There was a sudden rapt knock at the door, and Percy and Joselyn immediately disengaged, both smoothing down their hair and trying very hard to look as though they hadn't just been snogging senselessly in Percy's office.

"Come in," said Percy stiffly, his lips thinning in embarrassment.

"Good afternoon Mr. Weasley, Ms. Attache," Albus Dumbledore entered the office, his eyes twinkling infuriatingly.

"Sir," Percy acknowledged Professor Dumbledore and strode shakily behind his desk.

Joselyn seized the moment of silence and left abruptly, her face a bit scarlet and her head bent to her feet. Dumbledore seemed amused by this, but not in a cruel way. His eyes twinkled merrily as she closed the door behind her, and his gaze turned to Percy, who seemed, all in all, to be a bit flustered. He took a sip of water, and promptly choked on it.

"Mr. Weasley, I just came to schedule a meeting about the promised Hogwarts express inspection. It needs to be handled a bit differently this year." Dumbledore gave Percy a slight opportunity to compose himself.

"Yes, of course headmaster," said Percy, who was quickly recovering. "I'm free to meet at any time for the next two days."

"Well then," said Dumbledore cheerfully, "I'll meet you at two o'clock tomorrow."

"Perfect," said Percy unenthusiastically, writing the meeting down on a memo. He froze, watching Dumbledore pick up the ribbon that he'd left carelessly on the floor.

"In the future, Mr. Weasley, I would suggest that you be a little more careful with the possessions you value the most," Dumbledore placed the ribbon delicately in Percy's hand. "And, in addition, a good silencing charm and a door lock the next time Ms. Attache comes to call. Good day," he said cheerfully, his eyes twinkling so brightly that Percy wanted to stab them out.

The door closed behind Dumbledore, and Percy collapsed in his chair. He snatched the ribbon off the desk and shoved it into the desk drawer, leaning back in his chair and trying to remember when he'd felt this flummoxed.


	10. Chapter 10

At two-thirty Percy took his time packing up his things, and he walked calmly toward the Leaky Cauldron. He wasn't even sure if she would be there, but even if she wasn't, he thought practically, he could use a quiet place to figure out his feelings for awhile.

The roads were quiet as he walked, typical at this hour on a weekday. Most muggles didn't leave work for another two hours or so. It was a sunny day, not hot. Very, very windy and occasionally a cloud would pass in front of the sun, casting a gentle, white glow on the world.

When he walked into the Leaky Cauldron, she was already there. She'd cast open the windows so that the room was filled with the breeze, and the curtains flapped silently in the wind. He dropped his bag on the floor, a good foresight, for as soon as she laid eyes on him she leapt forward out of her seat and wrapped her arms around him, bringing her lips to his.

"Now wait a moment," said Percy, breathing heavily and pushing her away with all his might. "We need to talk about this."

"About what?" she said backing away slowly.

"About," he began, advancing on her heavily and feeling slightly intoxicated. "this," he gestured to himself, and then to her. "I love you," he continued, feeling as though he should get this point out into the open.

"I love you back," she said softly, her eyes wide and beautiful.

"Well… alright then," Percy said, satisfied, and he closed in the distance between them, taking her into his arms. Her lips were soft upon his, and Percy couldn't remember feeling quite this reckless.

"So," said Joselyn, smiling, as he swept her onto the bed behind them. "Nothing more to say?" Her hands slid down to his waist, and she slid off his jumper, grinning at the way his hair became mussed.

"Like what?" he said, unbuttoning her shirt. "You're beautiful?" he placed a kiss where the button had been. "Incredible," another kiss. "And extremely soft," yet another kiss.

"No nothing like that," she said, giggling a little. "I mean anything important." She skillfully unbuttoned his shirt, and brought it apart, running her fingers across his chest.

"Ah… well, not that I can," here he gasped, as she nibbled his ear, "think of." He finished heavily.

"Are you sure?" she said, grasping his shoulder blades as he planted another very delicate kiss on her collarbone.

"Yes… I think we're covered." Said Percy, and then he pulled her toward him by the middle and rolled. Soon they were as entangled with each other as they were in the sheets, and they didn't have much else to talk about.

Percy woke up a few hours later, just as the light was beginning to dim outside. He smiled at Joselyn, asleep beside him, her hair falling beautifully on the pillow beneath her, her skin glowing against the sheets. He watched her for a little while, the way her breath rose and fell, the way her eyelids fluttered every now and then.

She woke up just as he was leaning back down on the pillow. She rolled over to face him, her eyes full and her skin hot. There was no humor in it at all when he kissed her this time. Every touch burned, it was as though they were making love in fire. Before long, they couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. And it was here, entangled with one another, that they fell asleep for the second time.

"I want you to meet my family," said Percy lazily, content to lie in her arms. It'd been dark for a long time.

"Your family?" Joselyn looked a little frightened. "Are you sure? I'm not exactly a…" she began.

"You're perfect," said Percy sternly, "and I love you and so will they."

There was silence for a moment, and then Joselyn sighed.

"When?"

"Christmas I think," said Percy practically, "it's only a few weeks away.

"Hard to believe," said Joselyn. "It's too warm for November." Percy sighed contentedly into Joselyn's hair, breathing it in.

Abruptly, he realized that he'd missed dinner, and that if he didn't get home his mother would murder him for frightening her during these dangerous times.

"Joselyn," said Percy abruptly, "can I take you home?"

"Why? Aren't you comfortable?" she laughed.

"Yes," said Percy, snuggling up to her. "Darling, yes. But my mother will have a coronary if I don't turn up in the morning."

"Then we'd better hurry," she said, smiling. It's nearly morning now, she gestured to the window, where the sun was peeking it's golden head above the horizon. But Percy did not hurry. He and Joselyn dressed each other, taking nearly as much enjoyment in putting clothes back on each other as they did taking them off in the first place.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning was a busy one for the Weasley family, not in the sense that they had somewhere to go, or something very important to do, but more of a whole slew of recreational events that they had planned for the day off, eager to do something fun. Everyone was home for Thanksgiving, and there was still a twenty-four hour pre-Mrs.-Weasley-making-dinner-a-day-ahead-of-time madness.

"Game of Quidditch I reckon," said George happily, as Charlie toasted the idea with his cup of orange juice.

"Yeah," said Ron, enthused. "I've gotten to be a spectacular keeper. Just ask Harry." Ron nudged Harry with his elbow.

"Ron, Gred and I here could keep better than you do, and we're beaters," said Fred cheekily, casting glances at Mrs. Weasley, who thankfully was casting her full attention on the breakfast casserole she was nearly finished preparing.

"Where's Percy?" said Ron abruptly, trying to change the subject. He looked inquiringly at Ginny, who shrugged noncommittally.

"Why'd you have to bring the wretched priggish eyesore into the conversation?" asked George spitefully. Mrs. Weasley smacked him in the back of the head.

"You're only angry because he refuses to buy your products," said Bill smartly.

"You don't buy our products either," said Fred.

"Yes, but I'm everything you aren't." Bill took another sliver of bacon, and Charlie heaped an appreciative biscuit onto his plate.

"Lets change the subject, shall we?" said George, looking at his brother Fred from across the table. Suddenly the orange juice turned pink.

Mrs. Weasley was about halfway through her rant when the family heard Percy walk down the stairs. And all at once a hush came over the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley dropped a bowl of strawberries. Fred and George were sitting dumbfounded with their mouths hanging open. Ginny was smiling happily. Ron had ceased eating. Even Bill and Charlie seemed to have nothing to say. In fact, the only person who seemed not to have noticed the mild hurricane of shock tearing up the family was Mr. Weasley, who had taken his wand and was trying to use it (with his wife's wand) to pick up the egg on his plate, as though he'd seen it in an old Chinese film and wanted to explore the benefits of eating with your wand.

Percy Weasley, was the most proper and predictable member of his family. He came downstairs every morning fully dressed in two piece pajamas, no matter what time of year it was. He sat quietly at the table, ate his breakfast in silence, and padded back to his bedroom to change and then leave for work. In the last six years or so he'd never deviated from this pattern, whether his destination be school or work.

So you can imagine what a shock it was to Percy's family when he walked down the stairs to breakfast in nothing but his boxers. He looked both extraordinarily tired, and extraordinarily contented, both of which were uncharacteristic to Percy's general aura. And, to top it all off, Percy had waltzed into this new alternate universe looking like a body-builder, the muscles in his torso now clearly defined. Bill and Charlie both were eyeing him appreciatively, and Fred and George looked as though they'd just seen their joke shop go up in flames.

"Mum?" said Percy suddenly after sitting down. There was a collective jump around the table. "Where's the jam?" He stared inquiringly at her. Mrs. Weasley did not speak, but made a funny squeaky noise, similar to the noise emitted by a mouse when trodden on.

"No jam?" he gazed lovingly at him mother, amused by the shocked and mildly scandalized look on her face. She still made no sound.

After a long moment, Percy sighed. "I'm going to get some jam," he said, not feeling that this was important, but unnerved by the silence around him. He stood up in silence, his pectorals rippling smoothly, and threw a coat on over his boxers. Then, feeling as though this were quite enough, or perhaps not noticing his attire, he strode out of the house barfoot.

"No shoes, no service," George called after him, for lack of anything better to say. There was a long pause after this.

"Who murdered our brother," Fred said wonderingly, "and replaced him with someone far more interesting?"

All at once the table broke out in chatter.

"The imperius curse?" Bill said, quite seriously to his brother Charlie.

"Has to be," said Ron. "There's no other explanation." An egg slipped off of his fork and onto his lap.

"Why would anyone want to bewitch Percy so that he comes downstairs wearing nothing but his underwear?" Charlie, the usual voice of reason, seemed unperturbed by Percy's odd behavior.

"Perhaps he'd been poisoned or something," Ron speculated, trying to mop the egg yolk from his pajama bottoms.

"I don't think any of our joke products could have produced results like this," said George, looking at Fred with concern.

"Maybe we burned up his pajamas by accident during the night." Said Fred.

"STOP!" Ginny yelled suddenly. "Look at mum, she's fainted." There was a great commotion at this, at which point Bill lifted up his mother and took her into the living room, presumably to revive her. The rest of the family sat down slowly, and continued talking about Percy.

"Mum's right sock-knocked I reckon," said George. He seemed a bit bewildered, unable to get used to the idea of Percy being the one Mum fainted because of.

"Why are you all so surprised by this?" asked Harry quietly. He'd gone unnoticed in the commotion, and Ginny grinned at him appreciatively. "Percy isn't the pope, and he's human. It was bound to happen sometime."

This statement caused everyone so much confusion that no one could think of anything to say.

And then Percy walked back through the door, hung his cloak near the door and then sat down with his jam. Breakfast concluded in silence.


	12. Chapter 12

"Who is she?" Percy turned around. Ginny was standing in the door of his room.

"What do you mean?" He turned back to his desk, thinking that if he didn't look at Ginny, he could hide it from her. She was so extremely perceptive.

"Oh please Percy," Ginny walked up behind him and sat on his bed. "I'm your sister."

"I know that."

"Then I suppose you also know that I usually know nearly all there is to know about you, or at least I did up until a few months ago."

"Yes."

"It's a girl." There was a pause, Ginny bounced a little on the bed, eager for the response that never came.

"Is she pretty?" Percy hadn't responded, and he seemed rather put out, if truth be told.

"Yes."

"Is she a good person?"

"Yes."

"Do you love her?"

"…Yes."

"Then why haven't you told me about her? Is she less than reputable?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"Oh good lord Percy. It can't be that bad. She's not a prostitute or anything is she?" Ginny had meant this to be a joke, but as the moments went on, and Percy still did not answer her, it became clear to her how unfunny the situation was.

"Oh god she is," Ginny stood up, went over to Percy and put her arms around him.

"She isn't one anymore." He said slowly. "She's become a mediwitch."

"But you're still worried about Mum and Dad," Ginny said, echoing his thoughts.

"Yes…. Wouldn't you be?"

"… Don't tell them what she used to do. Not unless it's who she is, which I doubt."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I am," Ginny smiled and hugged him again.

"Are you going to marry her?" Ginny peered around the bench at Percy, who sighed. Ginny had been after Percy for idle chat about Joselyn for days now. Percy's most adamant reply had been "You'll see her at Christmas." But Ginny was persistent. She'd begun asking questions that couldn't be answered by that particular reply.

"I don't know," said Percy sharply. And he didn't. He hadn't really thought about it until Ginny asked him. Granted, he'd thought about life with Joselyn, about being happy with her for as long as possible, but not yet marriage.

In a way, he almost resented Ginny for asking. What kind of a question was that anyway. Ginny hadn't even met Joselyn yet…. Why did she care? What made her think it was already serious enough for him to think about.

_You know why, idiot._

**Thanks to my two reviewers… your thoughts are greatly appreciated… This chapter wasn't quite as funny or dramatic as the others, but it is necessary for the plot to move along. Don't worry, the next chapter, I believe, will be nearing Christmas at the Weasley residence.**


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